Last Tuesday morning, I picked up my copy of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, even after seeing many mediocre reviews for the game. I’m not usually deterred by what game critics say about a game and I couldn’t help my urge to swing the Wiimote around in crazy patterns to ‘unleash’ the force.

One of the first things Wii owners will notice about the game, is it’s lack of visual polish. The game runs in 16:9 widescreen with decent visuals, but the Wii can definitely do better. It looks like they used PS2 graphics with barely any added particle effects except for maybe some of the cutscenes and the lightning. Despite the lack of visual flare, I couldn’t stop playing through the many areas in the Star Wars universe we’ve come to know and love.

The winners of the “G-Phoria 2008” awards were revealed TONIGHT during a special one-hour “X-Play” broadcast on G4. The biggest winner of the night was “Halo 3,” taking the highly coveted Game of the Year award. Other big winners were “Grand Theft Auto IV” and “Rock Band” tying with three awards each, along with “Metal Gear Solid 4” and “Call of Duty 4,” each receiving two awards. Set during the summer when gamers can find respite from the heat and take advantage of time off to engage in their passion, “G-Phoria 2008” honors games that were released in the 12 months between July 31, 2007 and July 31, 2008. “X-Play” hosts Adam Sessler and Morgan Webb presented this year’s installment of the annual videogame awards show that included more than 90 nominees in 18 categories.

“X-PLAY” PRESENTS “G-PHORIA 2008,” WHERE VIEWERS TAKE CONTROL OF G4’S ANNUAL VIDEOGAME AWARDS SHOW

“G-Phoria,” the only videogame award show that puts the voting controllers in the hands of real gamers, returns to G4 with interactive features that make it the most engaging awards show on TV. Once again, G4’s experts put their personal opinions aside and allow the game-playing public to decide the winners in a wide variety of categories ranging from Best Party Game to Best New Character, with the ultimate victor being named Game of the Year.